Erdogan’s overt dodge and maneuver

Turkey is currently engaged in mysterious and dubious mercenary movements; Between a spin that no longer exists for Syria and one that has disappeared in Turkey, accusations of  “maneuver” are emerging.

Since the departure of a batch of Syrian mercenaries from Libya in late March, the withdrawal of thousands of Syrian mercenaries from Libyan territory has been stalled and there have been no significant movement on this issue to date, according to the Syrian Observatory.

In a statement, a copy of which was seen by Al-Ain News on Saturday, the Observatory (non-governmental) said that although the return of pro-Turkey Syrian “mercenaries” from Libya had stopped, the batch that left the Libyan territories last March 25 had not yet returned to Syria, raising many questions about their fate.

Dodge and maneuver

The Turkish side is “still maneuvering” over the withdrawal of mercenaries amid persistent discontent among the fighters there, especially given their dire conditions, lack of salaries and their strong desire to return, the Syrian Observatory said.

”The issue of mercenaries is not limited to stopping their return from Libya”, he said, adding that a new group of about 380 fighters from pro-Ankara Syrian factions have arrived in Turkey from Syria over the past few days.

The Observatory said there was no information on the fate of the new fighters, whether they had been transferred to Libya from Turkey or elsewhere, or whether they were still in Turkey.

Mounting discontent

The Syrian Observatory said there was growing discontent among fighters inside Libya on a daily basis, against the backdrop of the Turkish government’s procrastination in sending them back to Syria. It said it was concerned that the withdrawal of some of the fighters would be a Turkish maneuver and a media promise by the regime of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The sources of the Syrian Observatory inside the ranks of mercenaries revealed the existence of Turkish intentions to keep groups of Syrian factions loyal to them in Libya to protect Turkish bases there, indicating the presence of more than 6630 mercenaries in Libya; “Many of them do not want to go back to Syria, but want to go to Europe via Italy.”

Challenging the international community

“Turkey continues to add fuel to the Libyan fire, challenging the outcomes of the Berlin Conference in January 2020 and the Geneva Ceasefire Agreement.”

“Last December, Turkey’s parliament approved a memorandum, previously submitted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to extend the mandate of his forces in Libya for an additional 18 months”.

“Parliament’s approval allows Erdogan’s forces to remain in Libya for a year and a half, beginning on January 2, giving Ankara new opportunities and a maneuver card in a country that is trying hard to block paths to resolving their crisis, to drain their wealth”.

The Libya Ceasefire Agreement provides for the evacuation of all lines of contact from military units and armed groups by returning them to their camps, in conjunction with the departure of all foreign mercenaries and militants from Libyan territory by land, sea and air within a maximum period of three months from the date of the signing of the ceasefire.